Escape From Dante's Inferno
by StarsHollow4ever
Summary: Alternate universe romance story about Jess and Paris, who both understood the art of a well-timed snark and the heartbreak of being failed by selfish parents. Please read and review.


**** Escape from Dante's Inferno ****

**Genre**: Drama/Romance/**Alternate** **Universe**  
**Pairings**: Jess/Paris  
**Rating**: K  
**Disclaimer**: _Jess and Paris and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended._

_**SUMMARY: A continuation from the story that was supposed to be the pilot show for Windward Circle, when Jess runs out of life options in Stars Hollow and goes out to California to live with his father, Jimmy, who abandoned him after he was born, and Jimmy's girlfriend, Sasha. As it turns out, his father didn't seem too excited to see him and Jess also experienced a strong taste of culture shock in California and just when he thought things were going to get even worse, a familiar face from Connecticut shows up to lend a helping hand.**

* * *

_

Jess peered out at the roaring Pacific. It was his second week in California. He thought he'd been residing in the land of freaks back in Connecticut, but now the town of Stars Hollow was beginning to seem like a hamlet of normalcy as he thought about the craziness that now permeated every crack and crevice of his life.

It started the very moment he opened his eyes in the morning. From Sasha's twenty seven dogs that romped through the house to her daughter Lily, who hid in closets, cabinets and under the furniture. Next, the nuttiness would follow him out the door as he walked down to the beach each day to work at his father's beach front hot dog stand, _Dante's_ _Inferno_. He chuckled to himself briefly, he could not think of a more appropriate name to describe this business, this town, his father, his potential future step-mother or the place he was at in his life this moment.

It was ten o'clock in the morning and the surfers, who usually arrived at the beach around sun up, were already lining up for the hot dogs. After filling order after order for chili dogs and nachos, he took a breather and glanced out over the boardwalk, hoping to spot someone that didn't look like a complete alfalfa crunching, tofu munching, space cadet.

And then he got his wish. There she was – someone who looked like Rory's friend, Paris. It couldn't be, he told himself, but he had to get closer just to make sure.

"Jess! We're starting to get busy! Get back here!" Jimmy called out after him as Jess tore down the boardwalk.

"I'll be right back! Just chill, old man!" Jess replied, not looking back.

"Paris! Is that you?"

Paris turned and gave Jess a condescending stare, she'd been lost in thought and had never in a million years expected to run into someone she knew from back home while she in California.

Suddenly it registered that this was Jess. All at once she was actually quite grateful to see someone from back home. Her assessment of California had been the same as Jess' and she was glad to see his face.

"What are you doing here?" he asked bluntly.

"Counting the minutes 'til I get back to my cousin Myra's house and call the airline to get me out of this bad version of a _Beach Blanket Bingo _and fly back to civilization."

"Wow! I couldn't agree with you more, but I can't imagine what made someone like you come out here in the first place," Jess commented as they settled down on a bench to continue their conversation.

"If I had my way, I'd be exploring the islands of the Azores right now. I'd always promised Nanny I'd take her there when I graduated from Chilton. She's Portuguese and has family there and it was supposed to be a graduation gift for me and her both. But … with my stupid parents getting a divorce and all the money that it's costing them, they reneged on my graduation trip and gave me a ticket to come out here instead. Just look all these characters … if they wanted to send me to the ocean, I wish they'd shipped me out to the Hamptons instead. What about you? You look about as natural here as Cousin Vinnie did in Beechum County, Alabama."

Jess took a moment before he answered. Paris seemed like the only person in the world who understood him right now. As she loosened her beach wrap and he caught a glimpse of her cranberry colored bikini underneath, he definitely felt himself feeling utterly attracted to this spicy blonde with piercing chocolate eyes.

"Stars Hollow wasn't working out and I wasn't up to moving back home to my whack job mom's apartment in the city, so I decided to come spend the summer with my old man. This is the first time I've been around him in eighteen years."

"Yeah, well, if you ask me he did you a favor. I've barely been around either one of my parents in my eighteen years on earth and when I am around them they're a giant pain in my ass. Thank God I had Nanny, the only real parent I've ever known."

"Yeah, speaking of pains in the ass … there's mine heading this way right now," Jess said as Jimmy approached them.

"Dad, this is Paris. Paris this is Jimmy. Paris is a friend of Rory's from back in Connecticut."

"Nice to meet you, Paris, sorry to interrupt guys, but Jess is needed back at the stand, it's starting to get a little crazy."

"Go on back, Jimmy, I'll catch up with you in a minute."

"Well, Paris, it was good to see you, but I really do need to get back. If he was a normal father, I'd just blow him off, but I'm walking on egg shells here and one false move and _he'll_ be the one blowing me off and I'll be back on the bus riding to nowhere."

"You've got to be joking! This man hasn't seen you since you were born and you have to dance on a string for him? That's crazy!"

"Come on!" Paris urged as she grabbed Jess by the wrist.

"What are you doing?"

"You're coming with me, that's what I'm doing. Myra's got a ton of room at her beach house and after that you'll come back to Hartford with me for the rest of the summer; my parents are never home anyway."

"That's mighty generous of you, Paris, but –"

"You said yourself you were only going to be out here for the summer anyway. You shouldn't have to be bending over backwards for that idiot after the way he cheated you. Come on, let's go get your stuff."

"Whatever!" Jess responded, letting her take the lead. He liked this woman! Where had she been all his life? Sure, Rory had been a deep, philosophical babe, but Paris was much more take charge and could deliver sarcasm at the same rate of lightening speed that he could. Plus she had a troubled relationship with her parents, something he could certainly relate to, and he found her quirky neuroticisms down right adorable.

As they drew closer to Jimmy and Sasha's house, Jess asked Paris to wait for him as all twenty seven dogs came roaring towards the gate.

He quickly grabbed his duffel bag and ran back out of the house, ignoring Sasha who caught up with him as he put he was putting his hand on the gate latch.

"Jess! Where the hell do you think you're going? You know your father and I have plans to go to San Francisco this weekend and you're supposed to watch Lily!"

"Put a lid on it, you Debbie Harry wannabe, poor excuse for a Blondie impersonator," Paris interjected. "Jimmy was supposed to be watching _Jess_ for the last 18 years. He's Jimmy's son and whether or not that biological fact irritates you because you weren't able to enjoy the thrill of the conception process is immaterial, Jess did not come here to be your hot dog slinging, weekend watching, baby sitter slave. Come on, Vinnie, let's go!" Paris ordered.

Jess chuckled as they strolled down the street together and finally Paris managed a smile, too.

A copy of _Oliver_ _Twist_ fell out of his back pocket and he stooped down to pick it up.

"Couldn't fit _War_ _and_ _Peace_ in your pocket?" Paris asked sarcastically.

"Well … it's …. I've been rereading it since I left Connecticut. It kinda has a special meaning for me and Rory."

Paris bit her bottom lip. Rory, always Rory. The girl had been breathing down her neck for the last 3 years at Chilton and she was still doing it, even after they'd graduated and left school weeks ago. She decided she wasn't going to lose this competition.

"Oh, well, that's nice," Paris replied. "Rory was pretty upset after you left, Jess. I heard she's back with that Dean guy," Paris commented deceptively, knowing full well that Rory had told her Dean was getting married to someone else. "I met the guy a couple of times when they were first dating and if you ask me, those two deserve each other."

"What do you mean by that?" Jess asked angrily.

"Neither one of them are exactly the most stimulating people to be around. Rory was lucky to have people like you and me in her life. Without me, she would have never become competitive and without you she wouldn't have known there were interesting men in this world. Having said that, I'm not surprised she went running back to Dean after you left, after all water seeks its own level."

"Figures!" Jess muttered.

"Well, here we are," Paris stated, pointing to a gargantuan three story, pale blue house, with many large windows, nestled on the sea.

"Nice! Very nice!" Jess commented.

"You'll be staying in the first room upstairs. Just go upstairs and it's the first room on the right. I think you'll find it comfortable. It has its own bathroom and a great view of the ocean, with a terrace. Go ahead and change into your swim trunks and join me down at the pool when you're ready."

Jess dragged his duffel bag upstairs and dropped it on the floor of the bedroom. Before he grabbed his swim trunks, he took a moment to wander out to the terrace to gather his thoughts. Suddenly California looked beautiful to him. He was even less bothered by its free spirited characters. He decided to think of this place as Greenwich Village with a boardwalk.

After he donned his swim trunks he made his way down to the pool area to join Paris.

"You hungry?" Paris asked as she spotted him.

"Getting there."

"I myself only ever eat salads for lunch, but judging by that cuckoo clock I just pulled you out of, you probably you haven't had a substantial meal since you left your uncle Luke's diner, so just let me know what'd you'd like and I'll have Cook whip it up for you."

"I'm not fussy… just as long as it isn't something made with mung bean paste or sunflower seeds."

"Please! We're Jewish and we know good food. I know – how does warm roast beef on a freshly baked Kaiser roll paired with New York style potato salad sound?"

"Excellent!"

"Great! I'll go tell Cook. In the meantime, help yourself to a mojito. There's a fresh one for you on the table over there. I'll be right back."

As Paris reappeared, she settled back onto her chaise lounge chair and drained the rest of her mojito.

Jess drained his mojito, too, and stared at Paris and decided to find out why she was being so nice to him.

"Why are you doing all this for me, Gellar? I mean you barely know me. You and I haven't had a real conversation since we debated Kerouac and Austen over Rory's kitchen table."

"I look at you and it terrifies me. You and I are so much alike and it scares me to think about how limited my potential would have been if I hadn't been born into a family with vast financial resources. I probably couldn't even begin to think of pursuing my life's ambition of doing cancer research. It's a cause I hold very near and dear to my heart."

"That's a noble cause, but what made it a noble cause for you? Most women these days want to major in Psychology, Journalism or Law."

"Well … should you happen to ever reconnect with Rory don't let her know this, but I'm not an only child. I mean I am now, but I wasn't always. I had an older brother, David, who died of leukemia when he was thirteen and I was five. I suppose it seems sort of cruel not to ever mention him to the outside world, but it's just too painful to talk about him. I mean, I, Paris Gellar, have always been quite sure of myself and able to overcome any obstacle in my life, but it was the one time in my life when I was completely powerless to change a situation. It made me so angry, that I decided on the day he died to make cancer research my life's work. If I have to live to be 99 years old, I am determined to find a cure for this wretched disease before I leave this earth."

"Well, if there's one way to get anything done, it's usually the emotion of anger that makes it happen."

"I completely agree," Paris responded as their lunch arrived.

"I still don't get what all this happens to do with me?"

"I just think if I didn't have the resources and the opportunities that were afforded me, my life would have been completely meaningless. I can tell you're a brilliant man, Jess and that you must have been really desperate to come out here. You look like you think you've run out of options, but I can tell you now that you haven't. What exactly would you be doing with your life right now if you'd been born as rich as me?""

"Probably water skiing behind my yacht."

"Be serious now. If you had the financial means, what would you do with your life?"

"I don't know. Open my own publishing house so I could publish my own books and not have to go through the disgusting aggravation of agents and rejection slips."

"Your own publishing house so you could publish your own books. Sounds like a pretty well thought out idea. Except for one thing."

"What?"

"Before you opened a publishing house, it'd make sense to actually work for one."

"Ay, there's the rub. I didn't even graduate high school. I couldn't take those stupid hayseed hicks at Stars Hollow High so I quit going."

"Don't blame you. Actually, I spent a good part of Rory's first semester at Chilton calling her a stupid hayseed hick."

"You are evil!" Jess laughed.

"Thank you, Vinnie, coming from the likes of you, I take that as a high compliment."

"Hey I appreciate you letting me stay here, but can you cut the 'Vinnie' bit?"

"You're right, Vinnie doesn't fit you. If anything, I'd have to say you remind me of Pacino in the first installment of the _Godfather_ trilogy."

"Jess will do, thank you!"

"Okay, have it your way. I think I can help get you going with your life. I have an uncle in Philadelphia who runs a publishing house. I bet I can get him to hire you."

"That's nice, but what am I going to do about a place to stay?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. I'll make sure you get paid enough so that won't be a problem. Eventually, though, you will have to take care of this little not graduating problem. I'll go online later to see about you getting a GED."

After downing 5 or 6 mojitos each, Paris and Jess passed out by the pool and succumbed to a long, ocean front nap in the sun.

Paris woke before Jess did and grabbed her lap top and went online and found out that there was a three week GED class being given locally and that Jess could have his GED certificate in less than a month. Excited, she ran to Jess to wake him up to give him the news.

A month later, Jess had his GED certificate in hand and Paris placed the call to her uncle to help Jess get set up with a position in Philadelphia.

Paris traveled to Philadelphia with Jess to help him get set up with an apartment before returning to Connecticut.

Their last night together, they dined at Le Bec Fin and at the end of their meal, Jess reached in his pocket and retrieved a jewelry box, presenting it to Paris.

"I want us to be together always, Paris, but I know we each have to get a little established in our lives before that can happen. I'm not into corny things like promise rings, but I hope this present will help keep me close to your heart."

Paris opened the velvet covered box and saw it was a gold necklace with a "Star of David" attached. She realized at once the duality of its significance, one that he wanted to acknowledge her brother David and also her Jewish religion. She kissed Jess and he put the treasured token around her neck.

* * *

A few months before Paris graduated Yale, she placed a call to Jess to tell him she'd been accepted to Harvard Medical School.

"Congratulations, Paris!" Jess said as he received the news from Paris.

"Thanks, but now I'm not sure what to do."

"What's to be sure about? You're the best and you're going to the best school."

"Yeah, well, I applied to Columbia University and NYU and they've accepted me, too, which I pretty much knew they would. When I applied to Harvard, it was just on a lark just to see if they considered me worthy enough for admission, if anything, they should have accepted me for my undergrad when I graduated from Chilton."

"I still don't see your problem. Want to paint me a picture, Picasso?"

"That's kind of hard to do since you're acting like you're blind, anyway. Don't you see, Jess? Columbia and NYU are a lot closer to Philly. Now that you've opened up Truncheon books, there's no way you can pull up stakes and follow me to Boston. It's like you're my reverse good luck charm. If I hadn't been with you, I am so sure the forces of the universe would have never allowed Harvard to accept me the second time around."

"What are you doing right now, Paris?"

"It's Sunday. You know I always spend the morning perusing the _New_ _York_ _Times_."

"Do me a favor and turn to the book review section."

Paris complied and turned to the section and noted the article entitled "Jess Mariano, the Next John Grisham."

"Jess!" Paris exclaimed. "You're the next John Grisham? That's wonderful!"

"Take a look at the best sellers list for fiction books."

Paris scanned across the page and her eyes fell onto the number one best seller called, _Escape_ _from_ _Dante's_ _Inferno_ by Jess Mariano. Jess had been inspired to write the story based on his short time in California and his ultimate rescue by Paris.

"Paris, I don't need to be here every day at Truncheon. I have a great staff working for me who can handle a lot of the day to day issues and if you'll recall, the real reason I wanted a publishing house was to expedite the delivery of my books into the real world without the hassle of having to stand in a long line behind thousands of other aspiring authors. Well now my dream has been fulfilled, thanks mostly in part to you, and I want to be there by your side with you to see your dream fulfilled."

"Will you marry me Mr. Mariano?"

"I thought you'd never ask!"

A week after Paris graduated from Yale, Jess and she were married by the justice of the peace at a simple ceremony in Hartford and then he whisked her away for a month long honeymoon to the Azores. He even made provisions for Nanny to join them for a week before they left so that Paris could fulfill the promise she had made to her so long ago.

As they settled into their new home in Cambridge, Jess took a moment to drink in the atmosphere, definitely there were many new stories to discovered in this historical town and many more stories to be told about the life long love story he knew he'd be sharing with this sexy, blond woman whose fiery spirit perfectly matched his own and knowing that she'd shown up just in time to rescue his soul, he was going to do whatever it took for the rest of his life to rescue her back.

**THE** **END**


End file.
